Dec. 23, 2009

Box Score

Anthony Miles scored a career-high 28 points and recorded his third double-double of the season to lead Lamar to a 77-61 win over Rice at the Montagne Center Wednesday night.

Lamar (5-7) had five players - all starters - reach double figures for the first time this season as it defeated Rice for the third-consecutive year. The Cardinals shot 49 percent and tied their season-high with six 3-pointers as Miles drained four himself.

In addition to Miles, Charlie Harper had 14 points, Coy Custer had a season-high 13 and a career-best five blocks, with Justin Nabors and Kendrick Harris adding 10 points each.

Rice (5-6) shot just 38 percent and was held to 61 points for the second-straight game. Tamir Jackson led the Owls with 15 points and five steals. Arsalan Kazemi finished with 13 points and nine rebounds.

Lamar held a 43-33 edge on the glass.

Trailing 18-16 midway through the first half, Lamar went on an 11-0 run to grab a 27-18 lead. It was the fifth - and final - lead change of the contest as the Cardinals went into the locker room with a 38-26 advantage as Miles contributed seven points in an 11-3 LU run.

LU's lead ballooned to 17 points following a pair of layups by Nabors 90 tics into the second half. Rice trimmed the deficit to seven with 10-straight points but Lamar regrouped and got the margin back into double figures with two long treys from Miles. The lead eventually grew to a game-high 20 on a pair of free throw from Custer in the final minutes.

Lamar will be off for a week before playing host to St. Gregory's on Wednesday, Dec. 30. Start time at the Montagne Center is set for 7:05 p.m.